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Rev. William Blackstone 



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THE PIONEER OF BOSTON. 




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Rev. William Blackstone, 



THE PIONEER OF BOSTON. 






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By John Cr Crane, 

Member N. E. Historic Genealogical Society. 



WOKCESTEK, MASS. 

CHARLES R. STOBBS, PRINTER. 

1896. 



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Rev. William Blackstone. 



Mr. Blackstone was a man of marked peculiarities, 
and his coming to this country seems to be somewhat 
shrouded in mystery. Some authorities put the year 
of his arrival as 1623, and others as 1625 or 26. 
From what can be gathered in relation to him we 
learn that he was one of the Non-Conformist clergy- 
men of England, who, tiring of the persecutions there 
received, fled to the quiet asylum the new world 
offered. For awhile he enjoyed the peace and quiet- 
ness he sought on the penmsula of Boston, but the 
El Dorado of the Western Continent was attracting 
the attention of the people of the mother country, and 
soon he found neighbors nearer than he wished. 
When Governor Winthrop arrived at Charlestown, 
Blackstone was found in full possession of Shawmut. 
The first time his name is found in our history is 
under date of 1628. That year he paid an assessment 
of twelve shillings for the campaign against Morton 
at Merry Mount. The Governor finding Blackstone 



4 REV. WILLIAM BLACK8T0NE, 

ill full possession of the peninsula, was inclined to 
dispossess him, but the old Non-Conformist asserted 
his rights in vigorous language, claiming the right of 
actual prior possession and settlement. Winthrop, 
though holding a grant from the King, was somewhat 
taken back by the claim put forth by Blackstone, 
They proposed to buy him out. His right of pre- 
occupancy was afterward recognized by the Massa- 
chusetts colony, for they set off a portion of land for 
him as shown by their records, Vol. I, page 97. 

On April 1, 1633, at a court held, fifty acres were 
assigned him near his home. His house was, as Mr. 
Bowditch proved, on a six acre lot at the bottom of 
the Common, near an ever-living spring of water. 
This place was at one time called Blackstone's Point. 

May 18, 1631, he took the Freeman's oath. Had 
William Blackstone lived in our day, he would have 
been called a Squatter-Sovereign, for without patent 
or right conceded from any one, he held the penin- 
sula, and no doubt felt he was sovereign of all he 
surveyed. For some time his tri-mountain farm had 
been viewed with jealous eyes by the early comers at 
Charlestown. Blackstone, it seems, early found that 
Massachusetts possessed a climate adapted to the 
growth of the apple, and forthwith selected what is 
now a part of Boston Common for the purpose. He 
is credited with being the first man in New England 
engaged in the culture of this fruit. 

The year 1630 found him quietly engaged on his 



THE PIONEER OF BOSTON. 5 

plantation in the pursuit of his new calling. His pen 
had been laid aside for the rude plow of those early 
days. On the 17th day of September of the year 
above mentioned, the fears that Blackstone had enter- 
tained of being disturbed in his bucolic pleasures 
were realized, as on from Charlestown came the pion- 
eer fathers of Boston, and laid the foundation of 
what is now the modern Athens. 

Mr. Blackstone was a lover of solitude, so much so 
that he viewed with alarm the coming of other emi- 
grants to the region. Adventurous in spirit, he had 
squatted on the peninsula, but had not foreseen that 
that place above all others would be the least likely 
to furnish the refuge he sought. But the Puritans 
had come to Boston to stay, and that which troubled 
Blackstone the most, controversy about religious 
matters, began to sound in his ears. He resolved to 
push farther into the wilderness where he hoped to 
find the seclusion he desired. 

That he was a scholar is evident from the profes- 
sion he had chosen while in England. A lover of 
books; among those ever-speaking friends he was 
most at home. The world might rush hither and 
thither in search of fleeting joys, but the boundaries 
of his kingdom he cared not to have many cross. 

What is now Rhode Island offered to him the field 
he sought, and his property in the region of Boston 
was disposed of in 1634, and a year later it is sup- 
posed he bid farewell to those who had encroached 



6 REV. WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, 

upon him, and took his departure for the plantation 
now included within the limits of the state above 
mentioned. The spot chosen by him for his future 
home was then in the origmal limits of Rehoboth, 
Massachusetts, the part now Cumberland, Rhode 
Island. Blackstone seems to have been first in many 
things. The honor falls to him of being the first 
settler of Rhode Island as well as the original one of 
Boston. He built his residence upon the banks of 
the river that afterwards took his name. Along its 
course were then no industries to utilize the power 
running to waste. Just why the river runs so long a 
journey from its source before receivmg its name, we 
are unable to say. In the early annals of Grafton, 
Mass., the stream is called Blackstone's, but the 
earliest name known for it was Nipmuc river. The 
distance from the Heart of the Commonwealth to 
tide- water at Providence, is forty-five miles, and in its 
course the river takes in many tributaries. Of its 
source, Peter Whitney, the early historian of Wor- 
cester county says, in his article on rivers : " Black- 
stone River rises in the town of Sutton, and first runs 
northwest through Ward (now Auburn) into Worces- 
ter, and takes in various streams and rivulets in its 
course, then it turns and runs southeast, and receiving 
the river (Quinsigamond) which comes from Shrews- 
bury Long Pond, it passes through Grafton, North- 
bridge and Uxbridge, into Rhode Island state." In 
his article on Sutton, in the same work, he writes : 



THE PIONEER OF BOSTON. 7 

.There is some good both high and Ioav interval land, 
on Blackstone river, so-called. As this river has its 
source in Sutton, and is singular m its formation and 
course, we shall attempt a particular description of it. 
The reputed head of this river is a pond of about 
seventy acres called Ramshorn pond, because of the 
crookedness of the stream which issues from it." He 
then proceeds to describe its course to Worcester, 
speaks of its takmg in Kettle brook at Ward (Auburn) 
and of receiving Bimlick or Mill brook at Worcester, 
after which he goes on to mark out its course to 
Providence, mentioning some other tributaries that 
flow into it. As late as 1810 the old historian had 
revised a copy of his history, intending to issue 
another edition, but failed to do so. In that revisioii 
he made no correction of his original statement relat- 
ing to the source of the Blackstone. A majority of 
the later historians of the county agree with him m 
locating the source m Sutton. I have for years mam- 
tained that there lies its main source, and have met 
with some opposition. Notwithstandmg, I yet ho d 
to the same opinion. The famous sayhig of Black- 
stone, that he "came from England to get rid of the 
Lord Bishops," and was going from Boston "to get rid 
of the Lord Bretheren," was characteristic of the man. 
We are led to believe that wrangling and controversy 
was distasteful, and to escape it a place, though in the 
wilderness, was preferable. On the banks of the then 
Nipmuc river he reared what was to be his fhial home. 



8 REV. WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, 

He heard of the commg of Roger Williams, who had 
fled from Blackstone's old neighbors in the old Bay 
comitry, but being unmolested in his chosen retreat 
by the old Baptist, he pursued the even tenor of his 
way, enjoying his books, the placid onflow of his river, 
nature and nature's God. Boston has perpetuated his 
name given to one of her busy streets. Worcester 
has also a street that received its name from its con- 
tiguity to the river and canal named in honor of the 
pioneer of Boston. A town of Massachusetts has also 
remejubered him, when seeking a name for her ter- 
ritory. The old tradition about Blackstone may not 
be out of place in this paper. It is, that in his travels 
in the region about him in Rhode Island he rode upon 
a bull which he had trained for the purpose. 

It will be remembered that m 1662, two thousand 
clergymen seceded from the Church of England, 
rather than submit to the act of uniformity. These 
were called Non- Conformists, as in fact were all who 
at any time after the advent of protestantism refused 
to submit fully to the customs and practices of the 
Episcopal church m England. The Puritans sought 
for a change in church government by not wholly 
leaving it, yet the time came when they did so. The 
Pilgrims on the contrary severed their allegiance to it. 
Thirty-nme years or more before this great secession 
of clergymen, William Blackstone had set them an 
example in the matter. He had not only withdrawn 
from the church, and if the date, 1623, is right, he had 



THE PIONEER OF BOSTON. 

bid adieu forever to the land of his nativity. Durmg 
tlie reign of Edward VI, the people of England saw 
many changes take place in religious affairs. Som- 
erset, Protector of Edward, had him in charge, and 
being a Protestant the young king was imbued with 
a like faith. At this time the "Book of Offices," or 
Prayer Book, was prepared. Many prayers of the 
Romish church had been retained. It was also under 
the administration of this king that the code of 
articles were prepared, from which the thirty-nine 
articles so-called came forth, said articles being the 
substance of the doctrines and belief of the English 
church. The reign of Bloody Mary followed, durmg 
which took place many terrible martyrdoms of Pro- 
testants. Her rule was short, but it dealt a severe 
blow to Protestantism and reformation. Then came 
to the throne Protestant Elizabeth, under whose reign 
Protestantism became established in England. But 
the Protestants were divided among themselves. The 
Puritans objected to so many of the customs of the 
Church of liome, and refused the surplice and also 
benefices. Elizabeth sought to suppress this unruly 
faction in her dominions. The next reigning mon- 
arch was James I. He it was who caused a transla- 
tion of the Bible to be made. It was under the rule 
of James that Blackstone decided on leaving the home 
of his birth. He was not a Puritan, as is shown by 
his turning his back upon them in the region of 
Boston. The practices of the English church were 



10 R-EV. WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, 

distasteful to him. The Lord Bishops he could not 
fellowship with, and he left their church behind for- 
ever as he set out for the new world. It will be 
noticed that cotemporary with him in England, were 
three poets whose names are immortalized m history, 
namely : Shakespeare, Spenser and rare Ben. John- 
son. 

A few years ago could be seen, near his Rhode 
Island home, the well dug and used by him. Roger 
Williams, upon his advent in Rhode Island, was a 
very near neighbor of our subject, but nothmg is left 
on record showing that any intimacy sprang up 
between them, Williams probably knowing some- 
thing of the characteristics of Blackstone, resolved on 
leaving him to that seclusion he desired. What is 
now Lonsdale, Rhode Island, seems to have been the 
immediate gromid covered by the later home of our 
subject, and the spot is still pointed out where his 
house stood. In the summer of 1886, excavations 
were made for a new mill for the Lonsdale company. 
His bones were dug up, and what few remained were 
removed to a more quiet resting place. In the floor 
of the new mill there erected, a tablet was placed 
over the spot where his grave was. He died May 26, 
1675. 

It has been disputed that Blackstone settled in 
Rhode Island prior to Roger Williams. Samuel G. 
Drake was among those who gave the priority to the 
latter, but it is now thought they were mistaken. 



THE PIONBER OF BOSTON. 



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The reason for this is that another name was taken 
tor Blackstone's at the time of deeding some land at 
Muddy brook in 1638. There is good evidence that 
Blackstone left Boston forever in 1635. He would 
not join the church in that place and decided on leav- 
ing the region. November 10, 1634, at a general 
meeting, a rate of taxation was levied and paid h.m 
for his lands, all but six acres and his house, and after 
this it is said the land became the training field 
With the proceeds of his land he bought a stock of 
cows and took up his march for the new plantations 
of Rhode Island. What became of his house and the 
few acres remainmg near it we do not learn. It is 
said Mr. Savage visited him in his new home m 1641 
and said Blackstone had before this been a resident of 
Boston nine or ten years. The Indian name of Black- 
stone's last home was Wan epom seag, or a place ol 
snares or nets. Here too he planted an orchard and 
was successful in its culture. Occasionally it is said 
he went to Providence and preached the gospel 
Study Hill, as lie called his new home, was once said 
to have been located on the extreme brow of the hill, 
but it is now thought from further investigation to 
have been on lower land nearer the river. 

The Boston records show that he married the 
widow of John Stevenson. By her he had one child 
John Blackstone. The latter was a spendthrift, and 
negligent of his inheritance, accorduig to the accounts 
coming down to us. He lived on the estate nilierited 



12 REV. WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, 

from his father until 1692. He then sold to David 
Whipple. John removed to Providence and there 
remained till 1713, when he went to Attleboro, from 
which place he and his wife emigrated soon after. It 
is said they went to Connecticut, in the vicinity of 
New Haven, and descendants of them were later 
known to be residing there. Blackstone's estate in 
and out of Providence amounted, it is said, to three 
himdred acres. Part of William Blackstone's estate 
was, by order of court, given to John Stevenson, the 
son of his wife. The library of Mr. Blackstone con- 
tained about two hundred volumes, which was con- 
sidered large for a private individual in those days. 

Blackstone was a pioneer in the breaking away 
from the unjust, assumed power of the bishops of that 
early day. His was a spirit that would be free and 
untrammelled. His right to worship God in his own 
manner, he recognized, and he proved his manhood in 
daring to stand for that which he felt to be his prerog- 
ative. In such action he was not alone. The same 
spirit had prompted the fathers of 1620, as they sailed 
for the cold iiiliospitable shores of Massachusetts bay. 
The spirit that actuated the latter, led on to great and 
glorious results, as historj'- testifies. Not that the 
Pilgrim and the Puritan were free from the faults of 
mankmd, for they had many of them. But their ac- 
countability to God was uppermost in their minds. 
Errors of judgment in dealing with their fellows who 
differed from them in religious matters, plainly appear 



THE PIONEER OF BOSTON. 



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from the i-eco.-d. Yet in the face of all this, in view 
of all their rigid action, and knowing of their troubles 
which came through their superstition, we honor 
them for sterling worth, and the principles they ad- 
vocated, the outcome of which has been a perfect evil 
and religious liberty that has permeated an empire. 
William Blackstone was uistrumental in the move- 
ment that brought to these shores that Pilgrim hand 
of God-fearing men and women early m 1600. Yet 
his life was soured by contact with the world, and he 
sought isolation and quiet more than controversy, 
defending whatever belief he may have held. Still his 
place hi early history is and has been an honorable one, 
and though, perhaps, his later life may not have been 
as progressive as some of the early fathers, yet a meed 
of praise should to him he given. Notwithstanding 
his evident desire to avoid his fellowmen, late m Me 
he seems to have come forth, occasionally, from his 
retirement, to do something for their benefit, both 
physical and spiritual. 

On the river which perpetuates his name are a 

hundred or more mills whose ever-sounding hum of 

mdustry wins bread for toiling thousands of human 

kind The Blackstone valley is rich in its varied 

scenery of hill, vale and plain. The canal which the 

early century saw and which bore the name of our 

subject, is among the things that were. But the iron 

horse still speeds the valley through, bearing m its 

train the commerce between man and man. 



14 REV. WILLIAM BLACKSTONE. 

The mission of Blackstone is ended, but his life 
and those of his cotemporaries furnish themes for 
the historian for all time. They were the advance 
guard of a stern old race, behind whom was the Ruler 
of all thmgs. The purpose that led them to these 
shores was His. His thought the motive gave. 

" Who fathoms the Eternal thought ? 

Who talks of scheme and plan ? 
The Lord is God ! He needeth not 
The poor device of man." 




MR. blackstone's housb. 



SEP 13 1902 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 077 960 P 






